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Hi All. I would love to move and enjoy life in Baja. The thing is I have two school-aged daughters (ages 10&12) and I have no idea about education in the Baja Pen?? Can anyone direct me to information about schools (international, private, etc.)? Do any of you have experience raising an expat family? I can't seem to find any information about education.

Thanks for any info/direction you can provide. I seriously don't want to wait 15+ years for the dream.

Surreal

Welcome to the forum Surreal. A little bit more information might help us answer some of your questions:

What part of Baja are you considering for your move? Location will have a lot to do with the availability / types of schools.

Are you looking for schools that offer instruction in English?

Do you and your children speak Spanish?

What type of community are you living in now? (urban / suburbs / rural)

Will you be working in Mexico? If so do you have legal status to do so?

With that information it will be easier to give you some help and direction as well as some idea of what you may expect from moving down here and raising your family.

Glad to have you onboard...

I agree that more info is needed, possible locations in mind etc.... Also I know of many Americans with kids here who simply home school their children....

Thanks guys. More info on the way..

We're open to all places currently. Right now I have been concentrating on the Rosarito area but also starting to consider West Coastal areas that are more south. Long story short.. not sure yet.

I would love to find information on English speaking schools with a Spanish immersion program. I might consider homeschooling if that turns out to be the best option. We currently don't speak Spanish and we live in Austin TX. We would definitely invest in language lessons before we got there.

We live in USA Suburbia.. you know.. lot's of traffic, cookie cutter McMansions.. Big Box retail every 2 ft.

We definitely are looking to buy but would consider renting for awhile to make sure the area is a good fit for us.

My husband would be working but fairly certain it would be with an American Company. He can work from anywhere. So legal status would have to be started.

Would love to hear about the different educational possibilities available in the Rosarito area but also maybe Cabo and Ensenada. An internet search didn't seem to generate any information on schools (public or private). I guess in the end I just want a lifestyle for myself and my family that offers a new direction that is laid back (anti-rat race), affordable, healthy and to give my kids a chance to experience something different than US suburbia.

Thanks again!
Surreal

This is not what you want to hear but.......

Having lived in Ensenada for 10 years and experiencing the school system through my step-daughter and my grandson I feel you would be doing a great disservice to your daughters to uproot them and transplant them to the Mexican school and social system.

The cost of a private school for my 9 year old grandson is $2000.00 pesos a month plus uniforms and normal school supplies.

This august he will be starting in his 3rd private school in a search for one that has some educated teachers that give a crap whether the kid learns anything or not.

The word educated is the correct term.. Two of the teachers in the currant private school never finished high school themselves.

I could go on and on and on but I would have nothing good to say about the Mexican school system so I will stop here.

It appears to me that home schooling will be your best option, your hubby whether working for an American firm or not will need the proper legal paper work to work here also as will you and your children, ie, FM-3's for you and the kids, plus hubby will need the working version. Baja has much to offer and will be a wonderful educational experience in itself for all of you. The Spanish lessons will be a huge asset. We live just south of Rosarito between Rosarito and Ensenada and love it, renting is the best way to start until you do find an area that you are comfortable in. A mixed neighborhood would be a really good way to immerse yourselves here many Mexicans in this area are bi-lingual as are their children of which friends are very important for them as well.Another thing to consider are the medical options for you and your family as well as the proximity to the border for whatever needs arise. Feel free to contact me regarding any specific questions of this area, but of course you will also get many opinions and responses here as well which you will be able to weigh the choices that are best for you and your family. Good Luck and enjoy....

My dos centavos is that by and large, you will find the most acceptable school options in the La Paz area. That said, it seems to me that given the wide range of climate and living conditions available in Baja, you really do need to spend considerable time visiting a number of locations even before committing to renting anywhere. As was mentioned about home schooling, given that you give the impression that you are looking for something less than city or suburbia conditions, it may just boil down to what area seduces you when you see it.

According to the principal of a private school here in La Paz within the past 2-3 months....

1. Mexico does NOT recognize home schooling as a viable option, for children of any nationality who reside in Mexico.
   
2. There are NO accredited schools in (minimally) Southern Baja where classes are taught in English or bilingually. Typically, if English is spoken at all, it's limited to a one teaching course for about 1 hour each day, for one semester.
   
3. Any child of any age entering the Mexican school system must be fluent in Espanol.

I inquired on behalf of someone else who will be moving here with young children.

Thanks for that clarification. I was led to believe that there were more options there. That said, it would appear to me that home schooling would still be an option, as long as they can maintain some affiliation with a school entity in the states.

The private school located inside of Real del Mar (Santa Isabel as I recall) located north of Rosarito Beach is bilingual. I have friends who send all their kids there and seem very happy with the school and the staff.

Location, location, location.........

What are the children's thoughts about the possibility of the move and the type of education format they prefer?

Originally Posted by Gruñón

This is not what you want to hear but.......

Having lived in Ensenada for 10 years and experiencing the school system through my step-daughter and my grandson I feel you would be doing a great disservice to your daughters to uproot them and transplant them to the Mexican school and social system.

The cost of a private school for my 9 year old grandson is $2000.00 pesos a month plus uniforms and normal school supplies.

This august he will be starting in his 3rd private school in a search for one that has some educated teachers that give a crap whether the kid learns anything or not.

The word educated is the correct term.. Two of the teachers in the currant private school never finished high school themselves.

I could go on and on and on but I would have nothing good to say about the Mexican school system so I will stop here.

Thanks much for the direct input.. it all helps..

It all depends on which private school you pick........you get what you pay for.

Do your research and talk to parents at the schools you are interested in

Hey guys. Thanks so much for all the feedback. The more I research the more I think I might just have to wait until my kids are grown and gone :-(. I'm not giving up just yet and we will be taking some trips to different locals but my rose-colored glasses are off now and I think I can make better decisions.

Thanks again everyone!
Surreal

We are exploring the same path. I know in Bahia de Los Angeles the education seems to peak around 6th grade. If that is the minimum requirement for schooling, which I will have to explore, then your kids would be close to meeting that. I don't know yet so I can't speak authoritatively on that yet.
We are enrolled with an independent learning program through San Diego Unified School district. This shows my kids being enrolled in school and they meet all of CA's minimal educational requirements. You really have to be lazy not to achieve that minimal level....my kids could do it in their sleep. And, who knows, we may find something in La Paz after awhile that we find beneficial to our children.
I may just have to "mold" our lifestyle where we fly under the Mexican educational system's radar for a bit to continue to educate our kids how we see fit or try to figure out how to make their program enrollment legit in the Mexican legal systems eyes.
We are looking at the first few years of my retirement as "sabbatical blocks of time". More short term planning initially and letting our new lifestyle evolve as it needs to.
I ain't waitin'......that's for damn sure.

I like your attitude, Soulpatch! Look before you leap, but if ya can't quite see the bottom....pray for a decent parachute & don't sweat the small stuff!

Amen...

Hi, Surreal,
My friend moved her two teenagers from San Diego to her hometown, Rosarito, BC.
Since her kids did not speak much Spanish and had only gone to school in USA, she opted to enroll them through the SD school district via an online homeschool program.

The plus side it, it allows the entire family to have great flexibility for travel, appointments, family outings, illness, etc. The kids are doing great in the program, but mom has to keep on them to make sure they get assignments done on time.

The down side is, as you might anticipate, that the two kids miss the socialization and companionship of their peers. It's a pretty lonely life for them.

Two of my own grandkids will move here in February, with their mom. Mine are 4 and 9. We will probably also end up in homeschool due to the fact that the private English school here in Rosarito that is worth attending is too costly for our budget, and we don't want to enroll the 9 year old in an all-Spanish/Mexican culture and language education system. She does not speak but a few words of Spanish, and we want her to keep her American identity as well as blend with the local citizenry. I am just today looking into a homeschool association or organization and hope to have much more information next week after I meet in Rosarito at 10AM this Saturday with the USBC Club (guests can attend for free) to pick the brains of dozens of people who have lived a long time in this area. They are a terrific source of useful information.

If we can find a homeschool co-op for organization of some sort, that will really cinch our decision to go with homeschool.

Not sure if any of this is helpful or not, but the private English schools are charging more than $300 USD monthly tuition, plus costs.

Feel free to email me if you want to chat and share findings, since we are both in the research mode at this time.

Aloha,
MK

Originally Posted by alohamama

Since her kids did not speak much Spanish and had only gone to school in USA, she opted to enroll them through the SD school district via an online homeschool program.

I wasn't aware of such programs - sounds interesting,

And welcome to the forum alohamama - great first post...